Rotor Repair (Attempted) // 01.14.2012

To make a long story short: you can't do it with these :) This is how I learned that...I've had the brakes squeaking for a few weeks, and since it's under warranty, had the dealer take a look. That's when I learned about Audi using the rivets on these pads, the fronts were down to them, and dealer said new pads and rotors, $1,600 please. I told them not to touch it and would take care of it myself.I have a friend who has an amazing shop and knows more about every inch of cars than anyone else I've ever met. Most recently, he was the crew chief for a Sprint car racing team that did well enough to compete in Knoxville on a regular basis (not TN, but IA, which is where the big boys run in the U.S.) Anyway, he's a great guy and it's a luxury to be able to bring him a case of beer and hang out for the day working on whatever needs working on, and learn a ton.So, plans were to finally mount my Blizzak LM-60's (OEM size), replace front pads, and see what shape the rotors were in and proceed accordingly.Tires done and balanced, we took a look at the front left. Nice grooves, eh?

So, off it came and we tried to turn it on the lathe. After a pass, we realized - no good, the thing was chattering all over the place, and that was due to the floating rotors...so, on to a different adapter that would push out the springs and hold it in place better:

We also put different cutters on as per recommendation of his buddy who maintains that machine. End result: better, but still fail. The grooves from the rivets were so deep, we just ran out of mass to even it out.

So, we put it back on for now with .01" to go before we're at recommended minimum, decided to hold off on replacing the pads until next week at which time I should have new rotors in my hands (researched, I know there are JHM fans, but I'm going OEM again) and then we'll replace both front rotors and pads.And yes, I've been informed since that turning these rotors is just not something you do. If they're bad - you chuck 'em.Anyway - I always learn something when I'm there, and although we were less successful than usual, it was damn good timing with the Blizzak's as we got our first snow storm of the season while we were working on the car.